校友简介：托德·弗莱明' 12

医学院及年级： 杜克大学医学院，2021年

目前所在城市及工作他是东弗吉尼亚医学院眼科住院医师

你最初对医学感兴趣的是什么？ 你是如何找到你的使命的？

我被吸引到为有生理需要和疾病的人服务。 I was also particularly compelled by the godliness displayed by the physicians I had met before choosing this path. I knew medical school and the profession of medicine was difficult, but I was inspired by how the process refined Christian physicians into a deeper dependence and faith in God (Psalm 66: 10-12). 这是我想要的。 The decision to pursue ophthalmology came later, but was intrinsically motivated by my love for visual art and one of my favorite miracles of the new testament from Mark 10:46-52 - Jesus’ healing of Bartimaeus.

从威尼斯人平台毕业后，你的职业道路是怎样的？

I majored in art, and when graduating from Covenant I had little direction but an abundance of blind confidence. 我的第一份工作是和我的妻子（Jessie Jakes， 12岁）在一起。 We were interns at Ridge Haven Camp and Conference Center working in hospitality and doing anything and everything needed to help run the camp. Over the course of our five years working at Ridge Haven, I met physicians who frequented the camp with their families. 他们是我所见过的最亲切、最勤奋的人。 In many ways, I did not know my calling yet, but I knew I wanted to serve others and that I wanted to become a man of godly character.

此外，我越来越渴望回到学校。 A “pros and cons list” might have talked me out of it, but I had a gut feeling health care was calling me, and I had faith that God had put it on my heart. These last four years, I have been learning the foundations of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, and as of recently, I matched into residency training for ophthalmology in Norfolk, VA at Eastern Virginia Medical School. I feel incredibly blessed to be learning a trade that will give me a platform to share the gospel with so many people.

现在回想起来，威尼斯人平台是如何为你的职业生涯做好准备的？

首先，威尼斯人平台在确定我的优先事项方面是无价的。 基督是最重要的。 一旦我满足于这个真理，我就可以自由地做任何事情。 I knew even if I failed, that God would use it for His glory if I committed my way to Him (Psalm 37: 3-9). It is so easy to walk away from that simple truth, and I was incredibly vulnerable to do so as a 18-21 year old. However, the godly people surrounding me at Covenant pushed me toward the truth despite my sin. 你不能在上面加上美元符号。

第二，威尼斯人平台培养了我学习的多种技能。 I took a lot of core classes that I thought were pointless at the time, but now I realize that the exposure was instilling in me academic confidence and creative thinking. As an art major I was not afraid to jump into the hard sciences needed for medical school. I had already brushed shoulders with the material before, and I knew I could apply learning principles to any subject matter.

What would you say to current students who are considering a career in any field of medicine?

把你的决定提炼成你最纯粹的动机。 If what remains is the security of a comfortable paycheck, the recognition of having letters after your name, or pleasing the expectations of parents, then I would say get out while you still can. These priorities will destroy you and hurt the patients you serve. However, if the motivations that remain are the joy of learning, serving the suffering, and the advancement of Christ’s kingdom, then I would say PLEASE go into medicine. 这个行业需要你。

你的信仰如何影响你的职业生涯？ What does it mean to be a Christian doctor?

My career is just starting, so I suppose I am more qualified to talk about how my faith informs me as a trainee. 在这方面，我一直遵循两个原则。 The first comes from Colossians 3:23-24 that I learned from working in facilities cleaning toilets at Covenant. 我们一切所做的，都是为父做的，不是为人做的。 Practically speaking, this means that my studies, my training, and the interactions I have with patients are all acts of worship and a living offering to God. This perspective gives me joyful motivation in all pursuits.

The second principle comes from Matthew 5:44 where Christ expounds upon the law to love our neighbors and states that we are to love our enemies. I have encountered patients, doctors, and peers who have treated me with contempt or explicitly offended me. When I remember that I was an enemy to God when Christ died and was resurrected, I am prone to forgiveness, not retribution. I believe that my greatest ministry in the hospital as a trainee has been how I treated those who wronged me.

在你的医疗经历中，你有一个鼓舞人心的故事想分享吗？

我有一个简单的故事要分享，它深深影响了我对医疗保健的看法。 一位有三个孩子的中年母亲因慢性干眼症来就诊。 Even in the world of ophthalmology, this is not an exciting chief complaint. However, her dry eye symptoms had begun five years prior, and she had neglected the trivial issue because she was caring for her dying mother. We fitted her for custom scleral contacts that hydrate the cornea. Immediately, she noticed significant improvement in her vision, and within moments she leaned forward and wept into my shoulder. For years, she had not seen her children clearly, and she had been unable to see her mother’s face when she passed away. In the midst of that routine visit, the weight of her life burdens were being processed, and restored visual acuity had given her newfound hope. I learned to never underestimate the impact that simple service and kindness can have on the people we serve.

你在圣威尼斯人平台的时光里有哪些美好的回忆或最喜欢的故事？

晚上在苏格兰场玩游戏永远是我在约恩的最美好的回忆。 Honorable mentions include stealing away to Sunset Rock in the evening, watching the hang gliders after church on Sundays, Dr. Kapic’s Christology course, 2am trips to City Café, and discovering the secret room in the chapel above the lockers on the basement floor.